with wanderlust

the MBA is over...and so ends this blog

2010-10-25T20:25:00.000+08:00

So the MBA is finally over...what an incredible experience. Here are some favorite takeaways...

- enjoying Oxford's many delightful formal halls and balls....nothing like a dinner at a very old college hall to remind you of the privilege it is to be here and the many great leaders, minds, and world changers who probably sat in the very seat you are sitting in now...

- living among castles...yay..enough said..

- eating chips from the local kebab vans at 1 am...McCoy's and Botleys are my top choices...

- mastering business 'frameworks'...ok this was not my favorite thing to do...but didn't that sound intelligent?

- hatching new business ideas...and also learning about everyone else's cool ideas...(can't wait to see how some of them grow into full fledged businesses)

- wearing a sub-fusc...though it's very unflattering to women...there's something special seeing all your friends dressed in the same uniform as we all take our very last exam together...

- making lifelong friends who are literally from around the world....what an eye-opener to view the world from their perspective....can't wait to visit you all!!

- the end -

more MBAT pics if you fancy...

2010-05-24T06:34:00.000+08:00

MBATs!!!

2010-05-24T05:36:00.000+08:00

Last week, Oxford brought home bronze at the MBAT! Here are some highlights:

on the handball court...

Brad shooting a penalty...

IMD kids stole our pompoms... but they were so cute so we let them...

TT...

Doug with the rowing trophy...!

women's touch rugby...

Jurgita attempts the mechanical bull...

Tomo's Box performs!

fun and games with the Chaudhurys...

dodgeball -- very intense...

doubles TT...

more dodgeball intense-ness...

self-explanatory...

Recap: Why Africa?

2010-05-09T20:49:00.000+08:00

In April, I went to Africa for the first time.

Why Africa?

Well, I could go on and on about the growing business opportunities there or my desire to understand international development on a different continent, but really, I went on the Africa Trek because I was curious. Curious. And despite my initial hesitation to add another expense to my seemingly never ending mountain of debt, I *knew* that if I didn't go now, I would regret it. And I was right.

I think the best part of student-led treks is that you get to see a country from the eyes of your peers. Learning about Nigeria through the eyes of my Nigerian classmates was truly priceless. We experienced daily traffic accidents (minor ones, I promise), met executives from a variety of businesses including West Africa's largest manufacturing conglomerate (Dangote) and venture capitalists (Grofin) and got relax at some of their favorite restaurants. Here are some fun photos of our adventures in Lagos:

At a market in Lagos...

our 'Culture and Global Markets' class comes to life as we notice the mixing of religion and marketing...

and of course, we ate suya, an incredibly delicious and spicy kebab-like meat. it is apparently good for men and women...

i think bringing suya to oxford would be a great business proposition... :)

In Ghana, we visited a slew of businesses, microfinance institutions, social enterprises and non-profits. But the highlight for me was visiting Cape Coast Castle, once a busy port of the slave trade. Before the MBA, I had the privilege of working to rescue bonded laborers in India, so visiting the castle was a sobering and inspiring experience. Here are some photos from the castle:

it says: in everlasting memory of the anguish of our ancestor/ may those who died rest in peace /may those who return find their roots/ may humanity never again perpetrate such injustice against humanity/ we the living vow to uphold this

the port outside the castle -- many years ago slave boats parked here

canons in the castle

instruments used to brand and shackle slaves

the door of no return -- slaves would leave cape coast for the americas through here...

Nigeria and Ghana were truly eye-opening places and I am so grateful that I got a chance to go. I look forward to going back to visit, especially since some of my classmates plan to set up businesses there, or better yet, get married soon (not naming an nigerian names here...;))....

Return from Hiatus!

2010-04-22T18:25:00.001+08:00

All -- it's been ages. And it's all my fault. I thought Michaelmas was crazy busy but it turns out that Hillary could be worse. This Monday, we finally turned in our Entrepreneurial Project (marking the end of the term) and today Trinity Term begins. Sigh.

But, between Hilary and Trinity I went to Nigeria and Ghana for the very first time!! I'm going to blog on it for the SBS MBA blog, but in the meantime here are some pics (courtesy of my fellow student trekkers)...

At the beginning...

at our free guest house in Lagos (courtesy of Access Bank!)

Our first meal in Lagos....Leanne is demonstrating...

Meetings...

Much needed air conditioning...

at Dangote...

Obama is popular here...

Sweet bread & Natalie!!!

In Ghana...eating an omelette out of a plastic bag from the local market

Networking @Cadbury's Ghana

At MEST

More to come...I promise...

A Winter Wonderland...

2010-01-13T04:21:00.003+08:00

So you all probably heard that an avalanche (literally) of snow has completely smothered the UK. Last Wednesday, as I willed my sleepy self off the plane and into Heathrow Airport I was greeted by a a grayish-brown sky dotted with small white flakes of snow. Later on, when I got off my bus at Oxford, I discovered that these lovely snowflakes in fact turn into slush as they hit the pavement. A squishy, icky, fluid, black slush. How sad. Truly it pains me to believe that the demise of such beautiful white flecks of ice is to join its brothers and sisters as sooty-slush. But anyway...

...despite the icky floor of slush, a snowy Oxford is truly a beautiful sight. The snow lightly envelopes the buildings ever so majestically. :) Check it out:

Pembroke College

Christ Church Entrance

St. Aldates

even the bikes look beautiful in the snow...

Some inspiration for today...

2009-12-18T19:40:00.003+08:00

Obama's Nobel Lecture 2009

Exams are almost done....

2009-12-17T08:37:00.000+08:00

Sorry all for being completely MIA. This week has been a marathon of exams on subjects I confess I never really desired to study (i.e. finance). I have one more to go which I can't study for....so here I am blogging...

So...what's been going on?

Michaelmas Term is coming to an end...and it's quite bittersweet. It was just a little over two months ago that I landed at Oxford with mixed feelings of excitement twinged with anxiety about what lay ahead. With no 'traditional' business experience to speak of, I suddenly found myself knee-deep in conversations about 'value-proposition,' 'competitive advantage,' 'core competence,' 'price point' etc. -- terms that I now oddly use as if they were always a part of my vocabulary. Now, when I pick up the FT (a rare occurrence given my loyalty to the NYT) I can *understand* it. And for those who know me, that's a pretty big feat. :)

So here's a (likely to expand) list of things I've learned this term (in random order)...

1. Cycling in Oxford may be hazardous to your health. The number of 'I fell of the bike and hit my head on the pavement and it was a miracle that I didn't have a concussion/ the bus was *this* close to hitting me' stories I heard this term was enough to deter me from getting a bike....for now...

2. When it's sunny, go to Christ Church Meadows.

3. Always carry an umbrella. No matter how sunny and beautiful it was in the morning, it can always turn dreary, cold and inhospitable in a matter of hours. Best to be prepared.

4. People do not use salt in their food here. I can't count how many times I've had to add salt to what was apparently a 'flavorful' dish. If *I* find it bland, I can't imagine what people who eat spicy food all the time think. Also, when I go home I am going to eat my way to happiness :)

5. I love living around castles :)

Tomorrow we write our last exam, and then we're having a massive gala at Keble College. Photos to follow...

Twitter...

2009-11-30T05:18:00.002+08:00

Today I was at Skoll:Emerge and I realized there was an entire conversation going on on Twitter (you can see it http://twitter.com/search?q=%23emerge09)....

Hmm....makes me wonder if I should go onto Twitter... thoughts?

Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford...

2009-11-26T06:43:00.001+08:00

Let me begin with two caveats --
1. I am not particularly interested in working in Silicon Valley, and
2. I am not a tech-geek (as you can tell by the fact that this blog is on blogspot and not wordpress....but anyway...)

Nonetheless, Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford was quite spectacular. I couldn't believe I was in the same room as Biz Stone (founder of Twitter) and Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn) and other famous serial Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

Some fun tidbits about Twitter that I learned:

- the founders of Twitter picked the name out of a hat. One had put in a whole bunch of words that ended with 'er' (like jitter...) and when they drew 'twitter' out of the hat, they immediately knew they have found the right name

- in the beginning, twitter was likened to ice cream -- "fun but not useful".

Here's Biz Stone in the flesh...:

Listening to these entrepreneurs share about their highs and lows gave me the itch to start something myself. Honestly, I couldn't believe I was in the same room as some of the biggest names in entrepreneurship. What a contrast to living in Urumqi just a few months ago! So humbling...really. In fact, I was so excited after the event I even contemplated twittering....but alas...between facebook and blogging, I think I'm social-networked out. :P

Diane von Furstenberg!

2009-11-19T06:49:00.002+08:00

One of the joys of being at Oxford is that it draws famous speakers from across industries and disciplines. Today Diane von Furstenberg came to the Oxford Union. Check it out:

She brought us back to the early days of her career, her highs and lows and concluded with tales about her mission to empower women. Throughout the talk I was impressed with her entrepreneurial spirit (during her early days when a shipment of clothes came from Italy she took an pen and literally crossed-out the Italian words on the tags by hand and penned in the English) and how fashion became a means for her to become the confident woman she is today. She also gave us some memorable quotes....

Regarding Andy Warhol: "Back then Andy Warhol was everywhere....it was like parsley."

Regarding how the financial crisis has hit the fashion industry economically:

"...it was like the fashion industry needed a laxative..."

Now on a separate note....to respond to Miss Sophie's Time Warp Wishlist...I would put a vintage DVF dress near the top of that list. :)

Time Management....

2009-11-10T10:04:00.001+08:00

So...it's 1:47 AM and I have decided to blog. Yup. That's right. No harm procrastinating a few more minutes from tackling that Finance Capital Budgeting problem set (ew...).

So for the past few weeks as an MBA student, I've come to realize that the hardest part about adjusting to the MBA life is finding time. Time is a precious commodity for the MBA student. We usually have class for 6 hours a day, study group meetings for however long you want (word of advice: keep them short and sweet and everyone is much happier), OBN meetings, some seminar on whatever your interested in, a sector consultant to talk to, support classes to go to...and the list goes on...and this is *just* business school events. The greater Oxford community has loads activities -- the Oxford Union, choirs, orchestra, wine tasting, sports -- especially rowing, clubs around anything you could possibly imagine...

It is such a privilege to be here -- to be exposed to all of this. But sometimes it can be overwhelming. My solution: choose some SBS activities, some Oxford activities and some sanity activities -- (i.e. checking out new restaurants, drinking at the pub, checking out an art gallery, enjoying church, trips to London, whatever else you can think of..etc.). And get an awesome iPhone (or BlackBerry for you crackberry fans) that can sync all your calendars so you always know what you're doing next. :)

OK...now back to the capital budgeting model...*sigh*...

Diwali & Halloqueen

2009-11-04T07:38:00.000+08:00

Two weekends ago.... my Indian peers hosted an AWESOME Diwali party! The night began with a round of bingo (Indian style and called something that escapes me but begins with a T) and then the audience was treated to a night of high energy dances. The men did their best bollywood and the women were beautiful and graceful in their saris, salwars, etc.

After the show and dinner, someone started blasting bollywood music in and everyone began to dance in our very own SBS Common Room! It was high energy, loads of fun, and a great stress-reliever (not to mention a fantastic workout!). Hats off to all the dancers in the show, especially the Indian men who truly rocked the house. :) I have no photos from this (as I was busy dancing) but I know others took photos, so will put them up when I get them.

Then...this weekend was the infamous Halloqueen Party at St. Anthony's. Apparently, this is the bop (aka 'party' in Oxford-language) of the year. In good Oxford tradition, most parties have a theme and this one was cross-dressing. A few of us ladies thus went as 'Women in Black.' Check us out here:

But the stars of the night were clearly the men. Some went all out -- with wigs, shiny sequined dresses, painted nails, makeup and more. One was a Hooters waitress, another wore a pink corset, scores of men were in dresses (which they bought specifically for this bop!) and some even accessorized with purses, shoes, etc. I would post pictures here but since these men are looking for jobs, I think it best not... you'll all just have to trust me on this! ;)

Matriculation!

2009-10-21T07:27:00.012+08:00

I have matriculated and am now an official member of the University of Oxford.

WOOHOO!!!

So basically at Oxford, matriculation is a 'fancy dress exercise' where we all wear our subfuscs and head to the Sheldonian Theatre to be presented as incoming students before the University in Latin. Yeah...it's archaic...but it's tradition and it's a lot of fun :)

Here are some highlights from the big day...

Breakfast at Pembroke MCR

Pembroke College 2009

A quick note on this photo...it was a rather painful process. We all had to line up in height order and then climb on (what appeared to all of us) a flimsy set of bleachers. Needless to say ,I was at the very end with the shorties. As we watched all the tall folks file onto the bleachers we shorties grew convinced that a) there was not enough space for us on the bleachers, b) we wouldn't even be in the photo, or c) that they would make us kneel on the grass! Then they magically fit us in between the first row (the tallest people) and those seated in the front (the second or third tallest people). I'm somewhere on the left in the second row :)

With Yumi and Anna (both reading for Modern Japanese)

Inside the Sheldonian...waiting to be officially presented to the Vice Chancellor...

With MBA students outside after matriculation!

Harry Potter Moment!!!

2009-10-09T10:25:00.000+08:00

I'm not going to lie...one reason I chose Oxford was because I wanted a 'Harry Potter' experience. That's right...I said it. It's not intelligent but it's the truth. :)

Anyway, now that I've thrown that out there...needless to say, I was SUPER excited yesterday to experience by very first 'Harry Potter' moment at Oxford when everyone dressed up in gowns and descended upon Pembroke Hall for our Graduates' Dinner. We walked into a beautiful chapel-like building (U of C folks - think BJ dining hall) with high vaulted-ceilings, wooden panels for walls and rows of tables lit by candlelight. Once in our seats, our college Master said grace in latin and we settled down for a wonderful dinner.

One of the best things about being an MBA student at Oxford is that I get to be part of the wider university. Yesterday, at dinner I met an Australian studying economics, a Georgian studying biology, a German and American studying modern Japanese...and the list goes on. How cool is that? I love the diversity here and feel so blessed and humbled to be among such incredibly intelligent and cosmopolitan peers.

I would post pictures but I didn't bring my camera (I know, I'm kicking myself too). But I know a few others were, so once I get my hands on their photos I will put them up. :)

Where in the world is Karin?

2009-09-28T21:13:00.002+08:00

Answer: Oxford (via Doha)

I've finally arrived. Woot woot!

So far it's been a rather stress-free 2 days setting up my room at Pembroke College. Not only are most things available at various stores (Boots, Argos, Sainsbury's, etc) but these stores are close to where I live! Ah...the wonders of the developed world. The fact that stores have what you expect them to have (as oppose to not having stuff in stock or simply not selling items despite advertising so) is pretty amazing. Not to mention it's nice to be speaking in English again after a long hiatus. All of you who have ever lived in a developing country will understand :P

I'm living in the college in a rather small room (which I just learned is probably the smallest in my staircase....-_-) and I have to say that my initial reaction was: I am too old to be living the dorm life. But now that I've gotten over my shock at the size of the room and not having a stove in the nearby kitchen (it only has a microwave), I'm starting to realize how lucky I am to be living right at the heart of the city. It's nice to walk out and see a kebab stand, multiple bus stops, lots of shops, lots of people, and lots of castles! Here's what I'm talking about:

front: Kebab Stand, back: Christ Church College

More photos to come. And to anyone who's really good at cooking with a microwave please share your tips! And props to my friends who commented and/or added me to their blog roll! :)

Half the Sky...

2009-09-25T23:37:00.006+08:00

I'm taking a break from trying to magically make a couple more kilograms disappear so that I won't be charged a whopping HKD 280 for an extra kilogram of luggage on Qatar Airways (the limit is 20 kgs for economy)....

So in the meantime I did some reading and found this awesome book called Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. I think the title comes from the chinese proverb about 'women holding up half the sky.' Take a look...everyone can take part in their movement! :)

Some vacation fun....!

2009-09-16T11:01:00.011+08:00

I just got back from a fantastic trip to Singapore and Malaysia's Tioman Island with my Bangalore friends! All I did was sit on a beach and sleep or read. We ate some great seafood, did yoga on the beach, cycled and just relaxed. Check out the beautiful sunset on our first night at Tioman's Berjaya Hotel Beach....

Asides from being a vacation hot spot for many European and Asian tourists, the hotel seems to also accommodate monkeys. They were not only unafraid of humans but mischievously went through our trash. Grr...here they are outside our door...

One almost tried to get in. Shameless...

On a totally random note, during this trip I was introduced to Cadbury's Dairy Milk Black Forest Chocolate, which I think is one of the yummiest chocolate flavors out there. Asides from being certified fairtrade, I loved the contrast between the red jelly/turkish delight texture and the creamy milk chocolate. For some reason, I had always thought that the Black Forest cake was a Chinese concoction since I always saw it in Chinese bakeries growing up. Fortunately, my well-traveled British friends enlightened me before I could embarrass myself in front of any future German I should meet. Turns out the Black Forest cake is named after the Black Forest. Anyway....here's a pic in case any of you want to rush off and buy it after reading this post.... :)

Now I'm back in Hong Kong and running errands before I head to Oxford!

first post.

2009-08-22T02:29:00.006+08:00

Why blog? In the era of twitter, facebook and other social networking tools blogging seems antiquated (or passe as one of my tech-savvy friends put it - you know who u are!). So, why this blog?

It's about community.

I've had the privilege of making friends across the globe (not to mention my family is scattered around the world too!) and staying in touch has always been a priority. Although email and facebook have served me well, I've frequently wanted to share my life with them in real time and in narrative form.

So, my vision for this blog is that it will be a place for me to share life with all of you. I hope that you will stop by once in awhile to check-in, leave a comment, and enjoy my many random musings :)

So now let's switch to the present. I'm back home in Hong Kong after a crazy few weeks of crisscrossing China - Urumqi, Beijing, Kunming, Lijiang.

Lijiang was especially fun because I had the chance to meet a real Naxi family courtesy of my friend's co-worker Lang Lang! Here are some of my favorite photos - courtesy of Jenny's fabulous camera!

We started off the day meeting Lang Lang's most adorable Naxi grandmother...

We then proceeded to go hiking -- here's the group at the top.

Left to right: Lang Lang, Kat, Me, Rosa, Jenny

We then ate! Yeah....

We then went to a park (the name escapes me) to learn more about the Naxi culture...here's Jenny getting a translation of her name into Dongba (Naxi script)..

I wasn't here for this...I *think* Kat is dancing to the Backstreet Boys...

Left to right: Lang Lang, Lang Lang's Uncle, Kat, Rosa

We then went back and saw Grandma smoking!

And then we at some more...courtesy of Lang Lang's gracious family....!

Now doesn't this post make you hungry? ;)